


A Turn on the Ice

by binkty



Category: Sleepy Hollow (TV)
Genre: F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Skating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-07
Updated: 2017-04-07
Packaged: 2018-10-16 00:29:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10560334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/binkty/pseuds/binkty
Summary: Crane plans a surprise for Abbie on a rare day off.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Late submission for the Ichabbie Holidays event is late.

The nervous excitement bubbling inside him had Crane springing from his seat at the sound of Abbie's tires on the snow-packed drive. The Witnesses finding themselves with time for leisure came few and far between these days and Crane had no intentions of letting this opportunity pass them by. He only hoped that Abbie would be amenable to what he had planned.

He stood in the open doorway of the front porch as he waited for her to exit her car and was helpless against the smile that blossomed across his face when he saw her emerge. 

It was becoming more and more of a regular occurrence, that smile curling his lips upward whenever he found himself in her company. He felt the lovesick fool but if the Lieutenant had noticed his increasing joy at her presence she made no mention of it. Whether out of politeness or if she was actually unaware he wasn't sure. As astute as his Lieutenant was, he suspected it to be the former but hoped it was the latter as he found himself unable to contain his burgeoning feelings and had no wish to further add to her burdens by way of his unwanted affections. He was perfectly content to just bask in her company.

"Good afternoon, Lieutenant," he greeted, warm smile still fixed upon his lips. He clasped his hands together behind his back to stay his fingers' nervous twitching and descended the front step to meet her halfway. 

"Good afternoon," Abbie returned, matching his welcoming smile with one of her own. "You wanted to show me something, Crane?"

"Well, show you, yes but more so to ask of you something," he replied vaguely and then motioned for her to precede him down a path he'd previously cleared that led down to the pond. "Please." 

Abbie raised an inquisitive eyebrow at him but started down the path without question. 

"You see, these past few weeks of cold and snow have frozen the pond," Crane started to explain as they walked. "We so rarely get time for leisure activities so when the opportunity presented itself, I leapt at it."

Abbie stared in amazement when she came to the end of the path and came face to face with not a continuous blanket of white but a clear sheet of ice bordered by mounds of snow.

"You cleared the pond?" 

"This morn, yes." He stood beside her, trying to gage her reaction. His fingers renewed their twitching when she made no response and continued to only stare. When her silence became to much to bear, he gathered his nerve and asked, "I wondered, Lieutenant, if you would care to take a turn with me on the ice?" At that, she finally turned to look at him and the question on her face had him adding, "I assure you, it's quite sound."

"I don't have skates," she replied, gaze returning to the pond and sounding still quite dazed.

"Ah but that's where you're wrong, Lieutenant. I managed to procure ice skates for us both only yesterday in preparation for this eventuality," he proudly informed. 

The hint of a smile at long last found its way to Abbie's lips and Crane breathed a mental sigh of relief. 

"Thought of everything, did you?" Her eyes shone with merriment when they met his.

"When one has such little occasion for amusement, one must make certain every precaution is taken in order to fully seize it when it arrives," he returned, her playful teasing enabling him to fully relax for the first time since she arrived. 

"In that case, Captain, let us seize the moment," she smiled. "Go get the skates." 

Crane was gone and back with the skates in no time and then the two of them were sat on the bench near the pond lacing up.

"Man, I haven't been skating since our high school gym class took that trip to the arena freshman year," Abbie laughingly reminisced, pulling tight on the laces to ensure a snug fit. "Hopefully it's like riding a bike or this will be very interesting. And my ass very sore."

"Fear not, Lieutenant. I will make sure that you not fall. I was quite gifted on the ice in my time. Had I remained in Britain I dare say I would have easily been accepted into the Edinburgh Skating Club," Crane boasted. "And the skates in my day were quite crude in comparison to these. Merely a runner of iron fixed to a wooden base that was then attached to one's footwear by means of leather straps. So this should prove all the easier without the threat of the blades falling off do to the straps coming undone."

"Careful, Crane. Pride comes before the fall. And that fall will be literal in this case," she teased. Finished with her laces, she stood, wobbling only slightly as she grew accustom to the blades, and then turned to face him. "Ready?"

With the offered help of her outstretched hands, he joined her in a standing position. "Lead the way, Lieutenant."

Abbie carefully made her way to the gap in the pond's snowbank border and then pushed off onto the ice, arms shooting out at her sides and only just managing to catch herself from falling.

"Woah," she giggled. 

Tentative strides took her out further onto the ice to allow Crane the room to follow in her wake. When she figured she'd gone far enough, she slowly turned (circling her arms in order to keep her balance) and watched as Crane's legs almost immediately fell out from under him as soon as his skates met the ice. 

Abbie bit her lip to keep from laughing but her amused smile couldn't be helped as she made her way back over to his side. "I warned you, Crane."

"Indeed you did, Lieutenant," he laughed softly in self-deprecation. "I'd blame the length of time it's been since last I skated but I doubt you'd accept that excuse." 

"I would not," she grinned. "Especially since, all things considered, it's probably been longer since I've skated than since you've skated. All that time you spent for all intents and purposes dead to the world doesn't count." She held out her hand and once again helped him to his feet. 

"Would you accept my unfamiliarity with these modern skates?"

"That might have more merit _if_ you weren't just saying how much easier it would be to skate in them," she teased further. "Come on." He took her outstretched hand and together they made their way toward the middle of the pond, their strides becoming less and less unsure the farther out they got.

Some hours later found them sitting comfortably on the couch, warmed by the cabin's fire, having just finished consuming a hearty meal of beef stew that Crane had thought to prepare in order to warm them up following their time outdoors. There had been no more falls after Crane's initial tumble though Abbie did lose her balance at one point, allowing Crane to make good on his promise. 

"Did I not tell you I would not let you fall?" he had said, holding her as if he had dipped her while dancing, leaving Abbie unable to do anything other than hang on and stare up at him in wonder. His eyes had flashed briefly to her mouth before flitting away again as he helped her right herself and Abbie had suddenly found herself feeling very warm despite the chill in the air. 

"So," Abbie called out into the companionable silence, "were you planning on ending this date with a goodnight kiss?"

Crane's eyes grew wide and he stumbled for words for a moment before haltingly replying, "Lieutenant, Miss Mills, this was not – I mean I would never presume this to be–"

She smiled at his floundering, at the sudden panic in his eyes at being caught. "Crane, it's okay. I know you had no expectations other than for us to enjoy each other's company. But if you wanted to expect a little more…"

He looked up at her, eyes filled with a mounting hope. "What are you saying, Lieutenant?"

"I'm saying that you'd find no objections from me if the night were to end in that way."

"Truly?"

If she had any doubts before, the way his eyes had lit up just then would have completely erased them from Abbie's mind. "I'd say we've probably danced around this thing between us long enough."

"Oh we have indeed, Lieutenant." His hand came up to gently frame her face. "I thought myself alone in these feelings. I had no idea you felt the same."

"Years of practice hiding my feelings," she smiled wryly in way of explanation. "But they're there, Ichabod. I," she started and then hesitated. She looked downward while she gathered her courage and then raised her eyes to meet his again. "I love you, Crane."

"Oh Abbie," he breathed, heart swelling in his chest at her declaration. He searched her eyes for a moment, marvelling at how open and vulnerable they appeared. "How I love you," he said at last and wasted not a moment longer in joining his mouth to hers.

The kiss was soft but so full of intense emotion that they were both left slightly dazed when they parted. 

"Does the night truly have to end with this one kiss?" Crane asked, eyes still closed as he rested his brow against hers. 

"Absolutely not," Abbie grinned, surging up to give him another of what was sure to be many more kisses to come.


End file.
